Local natives conquer Boston Marathon

Many sports fans have seen the giant CITGO sign behind the famed Green Monster left field wall when viewing televised baseball games at Fenway Park in Boston.

But chances are you haven’t had the view that Creston native Matt Lanning and East Union graduate Brian Davenport had at that location.

After climbing the notorious Newton Hills and the famous Heartbreak hill near the end of the course, the CITGO sign comes into view just as Boston Marathon runners are about to make the final turn onto Boyleston Street for the home stretch in front of a cheering throng of spectators.

“I had some stomach cramps just as I was getting into the hills on mile 21,” Lanning said. “I realized I wasn’t going to have a massive PR (personal record) day, but I looked down at my watch at mile 24 and realized I was still on pace for a PR. I could see Fenway and the big CITGO sign. I knew I had about a mile left and I could see a huge crowd around the final turn onto Boyleston Street. Once you make that turn, you see the finish line and all of the video streamers and timers up above. You’re out of gas, but the people are pushing you.”

Lanning, a 2008 graduate of Creston High School, where he was a state cross country qualifier, didn’t get to have that view last year in his first attempt at completing the famed marathon. So, the April 20 race was sweet redemption.

A year ago, Lanning qualified for Boston for the first time and gave it a shot, even though he had curtailed some of his pre-race training because of IT band syndrome, an overuse injury on the outside of the knee. He collapsed and dropped out near the 20-mile mark.

“I tell people I did the Boston 30K in 2025,” Lanning mused. “About three weeks before the race I did a local half-marathon and hurt myself. I kept training because Boston was only three weeks out, but tried to back off a little bit. I struggled from mile 10 and when I was just about at mile 20 my leg gave out and I collapsed into the barriers on the side. The crowd was amazing and flagged down some EMS workers. There’s a bus system to transport runners back to the finish area. I had my phone with me because I was worried something might happen, so I texted my parents.”

Roger and Julie Lanning were there again this year to see him cross the finish line as he intended a year ago, culminating a successful comeback.

Personal best

Lanning’s time of 2:34:03 was a personal best among his five marathons. Averaging 5:53 per mile at Boston, Lanning placed 545th out of 29,376 runners.

“They give you a bib (jersey) number based on your qualifying position, and everyone has a goal of improving on their bib number,” Lanning said. “My bib was 778, so in that respect it was a successful day.”

The qualifying standard for Lanning’s 35-39 age group was a posted time of 3:00:00, but there are more applicants than spots available, so every candidate’s time is placed in order for a faster cut line. Lanning easily met this year’s official standard of 2:54.30 by running 2:34.32 at the Chicago Marathon last fall.

Lanning and wife Kelsey are the parents of two daughters, Emma and Veda, ages 7 and 5. He works in corporate finance remotely from home and does a lot of his training in the middle of the day around the lunch break. He began running seriously again in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

“I was turning 30 and working a lot,” Lanning said. “I thought I should probably take better care of myself with a young family. When COVID hit, going out for a run was one of the few things you could do out of the house. I started doing it a couple of times a week, then most of the week. As my distance started building I thought a half-marathon might be fun. I had run my first marathon in 2016 when I was doing a lot of cycling, but not enough running. I ran 3:38 and it was not an enjoyable marathon. When we moved to Kansas City from the east coast in 2022 I ran more seriously. I ran a 1:25 half-marathon and got to thinking that maybe I could run a full marathon under three hours if I really dug into the training and nutrition.”

In 2023 he ran the Kansas City Marathon in 2:53 and then each year his time improved in selected marathons, culminating in his best performance on April 20.

“Marathons like Chicago and Boston are unique experiences,” Lanning said. “There are so many people along the whole route. In Boston it’s Patriots Day, a local holiday, with all the schools out and everyone having the day off. They make it a great experience.”

Lanning said he’s likely concentrate more on local races now that he’s achieved his goal of running the Boston Marathon.

Fifth Boston race

In contrast, 51-year-old Afton native Brian Davenport of Minneapolis ran his fifth Boston Marathon 11 days ago. The son of Dave and Maxine Davenport and the late Cathy Davenport is a 1992 East Union graduate.

The standard for Davenport’s age group this year was 3:35 and he ran 2:57 at the Twin Cities Marathon to qualify easily. He ran 2:53.36 in Boston this year, averaging 6:38 per mile. Davenport was 94th out of 1,873 men ages 50-54, and 3,776th in the field of more than 29,000 participants.

“My PR at Boston is 2:42, but I did that when I was 35 years old,” said Davenport, founder of the North Star running Club. He was among six club members running at Boston this year.

“The day was absolutely perfect for running,” Davenport said. “It was overcast, temperatures were in the upper 40s to low 50s, with a bit of tail wind for parts of it.”

As a veteran of the Boston Marathon, Davenport was familiar with the course’s challenges on the way from the suburbs to mid-town Boston.

“There are a lot of downhills in the early miles, and that can beat your legs up if you’re not ready for it,” Davenport said. “Then you have the Newton Hills and the famous Heartbreak Hill at the end. That can come back to bite you if you’re not ready. I had some cramping problems, but I survived it.”

Davenport, who works as a software engineer in Minneapolis, said the unique experience of the Boston Marathon never gets old. He also ran in the Master’s Mile race at the Drake Relays nine years ago.

“The crowds and the whole vibe of the race in Boston, it’s a great experience,” he said. “Coming into the last mile, the crowd is four-deep on each side. It gives you chills as you run through that. There’s nothing like it. The whole city treats you like royalty the entire weekend. If you’re wearing something that indicates you are part of the race, they come up and congratulate you and wish you well. Every person on the street knows what is going on. It’s their race and they treasure it.”

For Davenport and Lanning, Boston will forever sit atop their competitive running memory bank.